Sometimes I download or buy a copyrighted model, and then customize it (e.g. improve its texture mapping). After that, sometimes I want to send a copy of my version back to its copyright's owner in case it is any use to him. But sometimes it is too big to email as an attachment. In that case I want to put it on my web site temporarily until he can download it. If:- - My web site's root folder has a file index.htm or index/html , and thus any attempt to read that folder's directory accesses ther index file instead; - I put a file, say zxcvbnm.zip , on my web site's root directory, and I do not put any pointers to it anywhere; - I email someone, say Mr.Qwerty, privately to tell him where that file is; is there any way that hackers can find that the file zxcvbnm.zip exists, or is my and Mr.Qwerty'd secret secure?

I would say the best bet would be to setup a temp FTP username/password for Qwerty and, once the file has been downloaded and confirmed, remove the file and deactivate the username. Also, make sure "Directory Browsing" is disabled. You would be surprised how many web sites you can browse through their directory tree by omitting the index.htm or through other sections of the site.

That's up to your ISP. If you do like I do, upload a page and don't link it and only share it with a particular person, you are safe from the majority of surfers. If someone wants to hack in and see what your web file directory is, then they have to use a port and go in with some other sort of software. Your ISP can protect against that. That said, there are ingenious hackers out there who can even hack a buffer. So, one thing to keep in mind is practicality. Who would want to target you and put in that much effort? If you upload, email or phone call your buddy, then delete, you're probably safer than you realize. The odds of a home breakin are greater than a random hacker getting your stuff in a quick upload/delete in my opinion.

But, be careful that you are not redistributing a copyright.

You can put your files inside an encrypted zip file and send the password by email to the destinatary.

Kawecki's suggestion will give you the best security for the effort/hassle, especially if you don't link to the file anywhere except in the e-mail you send your friend. I would also suggest putting it in a made-up directory other than root. Give it some name like mhhfrdnmkjgdjhfsgftfdiei. That will probably be as safe as the protection on the original file you downloaded.

The best solution, assuming that the right extensions are on, is htaccess file (if it is available). You can use it to determine who has rights to get into a certain directory, and prompt for a password (one of your making) also, security through obscurity can help, in this case. You could use very criptic names for subdirectories where you store these sort of things (assuming they truly can't browse your directories) Depending on the type of server, this approach might be a little different. If you are paying for the hosting, you should have access to a faq which should address this very issue. Also, keep in mind that most of the "free" web sites have restrictions on unlinked material. If they find it, they have various rights (depending on their agreements. Some can delete it, some can close the whole site, while other's might not care) eric

What is webferret and where can people get it?

WebFerret ( Web for it ) is a web searching tool ( very fast ) i use it with others ( copernic Pro ) WebFerret 4 ( base ) is free , ,there is a WebFerret PRO also .. You can find it at : http://www.zdnet.com/ferret/purchase.htm